News

12.04.17 Winter update...

We have dug deep into the fall semester of school, sports, and now the holidays. For the kids: Tilly won her club team soccer tournament championship, Chloe got named as a captain for the 2018 varsity field hockey team, and Carter got to meet a couple of famous YouTube'rs (for us older folks, this is the equivalent to meeting a movie star!). We also helped brother Bob move into his new home and said good bye to the house I grew up in Bridgewater...allot going on!

Musically, we have started on the demo's for 2018 and look to begin tracking for real in the early part of 2018. We have kicked off our booking for 2018 with a few notables: Harvard Hometown show #2, a trip back to Falcon Ridge and Dodds Farm for the Wachusett Showcase and just got word we will play a favorite venue for us the Soule Homestead in Middleboro.

Have a great holiday season and we will see you on in the New Year!

09.07.17 School is back...so are the Rafters!

With the start of school it is appropriate that we kick off the Fall Season at the Northborough Public Library Free Music Series! I remember as a kid having to research school projects at the public library, now the schools issue iPads out to all the kids! Something about a Library you just can't quite get browsing on a 8" pad on your couch...Did I say I had to walk 3 miles to school, up a hill, in the snow? Ha! SEPT 12th TUESDAY night from 7 -8:30 PM, lets all browse the dewy decimal system one more time...

We have gotten the home studio back up and functioning...with our move to Harvard last fall it has taken a full year just to get the few hours pulled together to get 'er running again...but running it is and demo's are starting to be created!

Looking forward to the Fall, the cooler weather, and making music with friends...hope to see you at a show or otherwise soon!

07.06.17 SHOWS - Start Recording 5th CD

Summer...our favorite time of year! We ramp up with a bunch of shows and start recording our 5th CD!

Shows...We joined forces with our friends Rob, Skip, and Beej played to play a few back yard parties in preparation for the big Harvard Celebrates the 4th at the beautiful Fruitlands Museum! What a night...A perfect 10 for weather, great day and night with family and friends, and we got to play a set to an amazing crowd of people. Thanks to Sandra and the Harvard 4th Committee for having us. If the beauty of Fruitlands wasn't enough, we return to the grounds of Tower Hill Botanical Gardens for an afternoon show on Sunday July 9th, and then back to peaceful beauty of Bonsai West on July 19th.

New CD...Miki has been hard at work finishing some new material which we will start recording in our new home studio "Countryside". We are really excited about the songs - and can't wait to get crackin'! We will be updating on the progress we go! Hope to see you all soon!

05.17.17

We have had a whirlwind few months. After coming down from the incredible Harvard Hometown show. We went straight into playing a new venue in Lowell (The Hearing Room) - opening for a modern folk icon - Ellis Paul and a show with a true music legend - Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul, and Mary!).

Check out this highlight video from the Peter Yarrow show by clicking on the picture of Miki and Peter below!

02.10.17

Thank you to everyone who made our first hometown show an incredibly special event! Guest musicians, family, friends and Wachusett Music we can't thank you all enough. Starting the year this way it is going to be hard to top it in 2017. We did get some special news delivered at the show that we were selected to open for two folk icons...like serious folk icons...as in Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, folk icon and Ellis Paul! More details coming on these amazing opportunities...for now check out the new VIDEO page with some clips from the Harvard show. Wow. Still blown away a week later...

Oh, and we got this cool write up in the Worcester Telegram ahead of our show! Check it out:

01.11.17

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2016 was filled with highs and lows. High - we moved to our new home in beautiful Harvard MA, a dream come true - Low we had to say good bye to 14 years of incredible memories at 10 Pingry Way in Ayer; High we were selected as a Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist - Low we lost a dear friend, musical mentor, and someone who helped start us on our musical path - Marty Nestor.

We created a year in review video set to Miki's song off our first CD "Do You Remember" check it out here:

08.27.16

Wow. Time has flown threw the summer of 2016. If you have been able to keep up with us on Facebook you will have seen most of our updates on Falcon Ridge. At the risk of repeating ourselves...Wow. We have been"infected" as Miki would like to say. An amazing event, music community, and talent. I now understand why people go back year after year...We truly were blown away with how we were treated, and the opportunity to play the Emerging Artist event. We had put up this photo video of a new song Miki wrote "Wish" to capture the feeling of the festival...Check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/153016444300/videos/10154480994519301/

A few other big shows on the horizon...We play the BIG-E with Charlie Farren! And just got added as an artist to the New England Acoustic Music Festival headlined by Patty Larkin! More on these as we get closer...

We have been busy (ok overwhelmed) with packing our house as we look to move in the next few weeks. So much packing and throwing out, the memories held in every box and item has allowed us to look back over living here in Ayer for the past 14 years! It has been an amazing ride here at ole 10 Pingry, I'm too tired to go on about it, but you can imagine...We also dug up a few old videos, check them out here:

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT....and we won't tease you with a "stayed tuned" or a "check back in..." nope...you get it right now =) We have been chosen as a 2016 Falcon Ridge Emerging Artist! For folks who know you'll get it right away, for folks who may not have heard, The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival is one of the premiere folk festivals in the US. The FRFF Artist Showcase is celebrating it’s 25th year and has become one of the most popular segments of the entire weekend. To have been selected is a true honor and a dream come true...after many years of submitting and getting the "not selected" email, we had to take a few days to actually believe we got the golden ticket this year.

Allot of people to thank who have put us in a place to feel ready for such an opportunity...I started writing out names and realized there's actually way too many...so to not risk forgetting someone, we'll just say thank you to all the musicians who have played with us, the people who have allowed us to play at their venues, houses, parties, etc.., folks who have helped us create on our recordings, all who have supported us by coming out to a show, listening to one of our CDs, babysitting the kids so we can do this music thing, and who have offered a simple word of encouragement that motivates us to keep on trying..Thank you all.

Its been quite a journey, in some ways it feels like we have just started...to think we played our first show together 10 years ago...Hey Miki - grab the tent, some bug spray, and the guitars we are heading to Falcon Ridge!

(and who knew Myspace was still up and running? Thankfully it is...we can share a video of the first show! Life Alive Cafe 3.11.06 hosted by Chad Verbeek! It takes a few seconds to load...)

Seems like we have been spending allot of time down by the ocean lately in the greater Plymouth area. We couldn't be happier. What a place. I can see why my sister in-law said she will never leave! We were back in Plymouth MA over Memorial Day weekend to tape an episode of Studio Session Live with Bob Crownfield and host Dave Palmater! Bob is doing allot for local musicians and giving us a platform to get our music out to radio and cable TV. An awesome set up and throw the cherry on top of long time Boston Radio personality Dave Palmater hosting the session, we truly felt special and grateful! We make it back down to the area in late June for Rich Mosleys B-Day party...Two other shows of note coming up: on 6/24 Amazing Things in Framingham and 7/01 we are featured at the Harvard 4th of July celebration at the Fruitlands museum. If you have never been, this is an amazing event, worth just going for the fireworks and sitting on a gorgeous hill overlooking the Oxbow.

04.20.16

We made a trip down to Kingston MA for an appearance at the South Shore Folk Music Coffeehouse. Celebrating 37 years, it was an honor to play the same stage Gandalf Murphy had graced just a show before us...A perfect spring day to drive down 495, drop the kids with Miki's parents and continue East on RT 44 all the way to Kingston. The drive brought back memories of home and last summer spending time in Plymouth with my brother and his family.

If for nothing else it was a great night catching up with Rick Drost who played an inspired set. As well as my parents and good family friends who came out special to support us. Thank you! As musicians, opportunities to play in such a nice atmosphere, with a great crowd, and awesome sound, is so rare...we truly appreciate the experience and opportunity. Thank you to Karen for having us and Rich M. for breaking us into the South Shore scene.

Next up we are deep in rehearsals on a new batch of songs...we are excited to start bringing them out of the kitchen and onto the stage! Hope to see you all soon at show or otherwise...

03.08.16

2016 we are looking to play with different musicians, record our next set of songs, and eat at different restaurants! We kicked off the year in Providence Rhode Island at the Goddess show, Club Aurora. We had a very special guest join us from the local band Sugar Coma drummer Michele Kiersey! We had a blast working through rehearsals in January and February. Electric guitars, Budweiser beer, and KD Lang covers - - - we didn't want it to end! The show was fantastic. Our good friend Jess Razzi promoted the heck out of it, and the result was a packed room and so much positive energy. Its not every day we get to share a stage with Miss Trans Rhode Island! Next up our hometown of Ayer MA for the 5k Police Foot Pursuit...special guest musicians signed up for the day as well...

12.10.15

December for the past 5 years, we have filled our time with the local traveling version of the Nutcracker. Our two girls (and Miki backstage!) travel around the state putting on the Holiday story weekend after weekend...As the ballet winds down we are gearing up for a month of rehearsals of new material - with new instruments - new musicians! We can't wait to get back out and playing. 2016 is already starting to look like a nice year of shows. Right in front of us is a co-headlining event on FEB 5th at Amazing Things in Natick with Hummingbird Syndicate. More to come on this...For now I'll grab a Coors Light and Miki a Guinness - flip on the Christmas lights and discuss how a mandolins tuning is really just like an upside down guitar...it should be much easier to play =)

10.20.15

Our favorite season of the year! Clean, cool autumn air, songwriting around the fire pit, and the return of the Walking Dead! We have been hard at work in the basement on the next set of new songs. We are real excited to start playing them out! Speaking of playing out...we are playing a new venue for us The Hardwick Winery on NOV 22nd and we look forward to getting back to Tower Hill for Holly Days this December! For now...throw another log on the fire...and keep your eye out for zombies, it is that time of year...

9.20.15

Finally getting a moment to think about the show this past weekend...so grateful for everyone who made it out and SOLD OUT the Bull Run! It was great catching up with you - all the local rock'n'rollers, our friends from the "hood", Harvard, Groton Country Day, Kronos, the Bonsai shop, old and new!

As we start to explore the songs and sounds for the next recording it was fun to add the sweet violin sounds of Jackie Damsky to the set...coupled with the incredible vocal harmony and piano of Elizabeth...well, we were in musical heaven!! Big thanks to them for sharing their talent.

A few shows on the horizon, but for now we have to let this one sink in...Thanks for all your support!

08.03.15

July went by like a warm summer day! We played a few special shows in two of the most beautiful gardens in the state, had our first family vacation in 3 years up to Maine, and put a new roof on the house! Looking forward to a few great shows: first Aug 8th at Soule Homestead summer concert series, second a road trip to Rhode Island for a first show at the Village (thanks to Razzi!), and finally a return trip to the Bull Run in September! Earlier this summer we were the inaugural act on a new cable TV show "Harmonies, a conversation with..." run by our good friend Denise Hurley. Check out the full show here:

06.01.15

A picture from our front yard as we move straight from winter to summer...

Speaking of the warm weather check out our summer-time song off of our new EP Departing "Green Car":

04.20.15

Marathon Monday will always be a day of reflection. We have re-posted a FB blog about our experience from Patriots Day 2013 on our tumblr page and would like to share our tribute "Never Broken" off of our new EP "Departing" with you either by going to our Music page or iTunes:

Thanks for checking in.

Dave & Miki

03.24.15

After taking ourselves off the grid for a bit we are really excited to let everyone know where we've been, what we've been doing and about the new direction we are heading! We have been hard at work behind the scenes in the studio, writing new songs and creating this new website in preparation for the release of our 4th studio album "Departing". This time around we had the pleasure of working with producer Crit Harmon, who truly understood our vision and through his time, commitment, and musical depth has left us forever inspired and grateful. We are busy lining up shows to promote "Departing" and can't wait to see you around!...stay tuned for our official Release date. More on our new tumblr account and first blog...